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NOTES FOR THE ACOLYTES OF: ST. MARY'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
"Let Your Light So Shine..." Matthew 5:16
I. The word "acolyte" comes from the Greek verb, "to follow", to accompany, to escort". In the early church various functions and offices were established. Thus, the word "acolyte means "follower" or "attendant". At first there were only the major offices of bishop, presbyter, and deacon. By the 3rd century minor orders had become established to assist the major offices. There were porters who stood at the door of the church and admitted the faithful, readers who read the scriptures, subdeacons who helped the deacons, and acolytes who assisted during processions, the liturgy, and other rites of the church. In the middle of the 16th century, the minor orders of the church were abolished, and the office of acolyte as an ordained ministry was no longer maintained. Gradually, however, the functions of this office were taken over by laymen. The function of the acolyte today is still to assist the Pastor with the liturgy. The acolyte can assist the Pastor with vesting, by running errands, helping ready the chancel for the service, and by performing other special duties in the worship service, such as assisting with Holy Communion.
II. Altar lights have played an important role in Christian worship both practically and symbolically. Lamps were a necessity for the early church because most of the services were held at night or in dark places such as the catacombs in Rome. This was due to the need for secrecy during persecution, and the fact that Sunday was a working day and meetings had to be finished before dawn. It was only natural that the altar lights eventually became associated with Christ, for He spoke of Himself as the Light of the World. (John 8:12) Today the altar lights are less utilitarian and more symbolic and decorative. The Lutheran use of two lights on the altar-table can be seen as symbolizing [1] the two natures of Christ--the Human and the Divine--or [2] the two elements of the light of the "Good News"--the Gospels and the Epistles. These two main candles are called the "Greater Lights". The candle on the right when facing the altar is referred to as the "Epistle Candle", and the candle on the left is referred to as the "Gospel Candle". Any candles in addition to these two are called the "Lesser Lights".
III. Duties - An acolyte lights the candles which are symbolic of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. Carrying the cross and Lectionary for processions, helping with Holy Communion, and assisting the pastor in other ways. This is a service to the Lord and should be approached with reverence and dignity. This, an acolyte serves as an example to the entire congregation by his/her actions, attitude, conduct, and appearance. Being an acolyte is a very important part of St. Mary's. We appreciate your faithful service very much! Thank you for serving God and your church in this special way.
BEFORE THE SERVICE
1. You will receive a schedule of times that you are to serve as acolyte. If for some reason you cannot serve at the appointed time, contact the person responsible for scheduling or find another acolyte who will substitute for you.
2. You should arrive at Church at least 15 minutes before the service and vest. Make sure your robe and hair are straight.
3. Check with Pastor Linda for any special duties she may need to assign you.
4. The candles should be lit during the playing of the Prelude before the beginning of the Service.
a. You should pause and bow reverently before the altar (you may want to offer a brief silent prayer) and then light the candles. Example of prayer: "Jesus Christ, you are the light of the world. Amen."
b. Order for lighting the candles. (See figure 1) They should be extinguished in reverse order.
c. Paschal Candle or Easter Candle - This candle symbolizes the light of the risen Christ. It is lighted beginning on Easter Eve and burned at all services throughout the Easter Season. At the services during the Easter season this candle is lit before the altar candles and extinguished last at the end of the service. When there is a Baptism or Funeral this candle is lit as a reminder of the relationship between Christ's death and resurrection and our own dying to sin and rising to newness of life in Baptism.
d. Advent Wreath - The candle for each new Sunday is lit normally during the reading of the First Lesson (Old Testament). The candles for the previous Sundays are lit before the service immediately after you have finished lighting the altar candles. All candles on the Advent Wreath should be extinguished first at the end of the service, before you extinguish the altar candles.
5. Using the candle lighter:
a. Your candle lighter should not be extinguished at the altar, but in the sacristy. To extinguish the wick, blow out rather than lowering wick into candle lighter.
b. To light candles, tilt your candle lighter to the candle wick. If you have trouble lighting a candle, turn your candlelight to the side and light. If you are still unable to get a candle lit, tell the pastor, after you've returned to the sacristy.
c. You should keep not more than an inch of wick out burning at any one time.
6. On festival Sundays, we may have a processional and a recessional. As an acolyte, you may be asked to carry the processional cross or the Lectionary. The person who carries the cross is called the "crucifer" while the Bible carrier is called the "book bearer"
Procession:
a. Prior to lighting the candles, the acolytes who will be serving as crucifer and book bearer place the processional cross and lectionary in the nursery.
b. Following the lighting of the candles, both crucifer and book bearer proceed to the nursery to line-up in the following order from first to last: crucifer, book bearer, choir, pastor.
c When the congregation begins to sing the first verse of the processional hymn, start down the aisle. The crucifer proceeds into the chancel and stands on the top of the chancel before the altar and faces the congregation. The book bearer waits before the Baptismal fount until the crucifer has turned, then bows to the cross, and proceeds behind the crucifer, putting the Lectionary on the lectern then exits by the sacristy door.
d. Once the pastor reaches the chancel, he will bow, at which time the crucifer places the processional cross in its holder.
Recessional:
a. As the choir sings the first verse of the recessional hymn, the crucifer gets the processional cross and stands at the chancel facing the congregation. At the same time the book-bearer picks up the lectionary and faces the processional cross from the lectern.
b. As the choir starts leaving the choir loft, the crucifer, followed by the book bearer, proceeds down the center aisle. When the choir does not recess the pastor will let you know when to leave (usually at the end of the second stanza of the recessional hymn).
c. Once the procession is completed, leave the cross and Bible in the nursery and extinguish the candles. Be sure to return the processional cross and Bible to their places in the chancel following the service.
DURING THE SERVICE
1. At the Communion services, if you are communing, you will receive Communion along with those who are assisting with the communion. During Communion, you may have additional responsibilities at distributing or collecting communion glasses.
2. When there is a Baptism, it is your job to light the Pascal Candle. This is normally done at the beginning of the service after the altar candles have been lit.
3. At the conclusion of the singing of the recessional hymn, you are to extinguish all candles in the reverse order which they were lit.
AFTER THE SERVICE
1. Please hang your robe neatly away.
2. Make sure your wick is ready for the following week.
3. If you are unable to serve on a Sunday for which you have been scheduled, it is your responsibility to find a person to serve in your place.
4. At the end of your scheduled month, PLEASE take robe home to launder. Warm water, no bleach. Iron if necessary.
